Chapter Two

A girl with red hair and blue eyes was standing against a white Chevy Camaro. She was the image of gorgeousness, tall, with a model-esque figure; you would think she was a Victoria's Secret model selling the new range of Pilates wear. The light blue yoga set made her blue eyes more electric and her red hair even fiercer. Eline’s breath caught in her throat when she saw her friend, Rosalind Pieter. Just like Eline, Rosalind is a rich heiress set to take over her father's engineering firm. Even though she has twin brothers, they're in their teens and will not be able to handle business yet. So Rosalind is taking the reins of the business until they mature, but rest assured she will be the major heir.

Eline and Rosalind became friends when they both attended camp back in primary school. Some older girls tried to bully Eline, who wouldn't stop crying at having been snatched from the bedside of her sick grandmother. She pushed off the head bully and dared the other girls to dare her. After the girls left, she turned to Eline and declared, “Hey, I'm Rosalind, and we should be friends. I don't know what the issue is, and it's fine if you don't want to talk about it yet. But rest assured that when you do decide to talk about it, I will be here to hear you out. And if those stuck-up brats try to bully you again, come find me. It's dinner time, and we must hurry, lest we get reprimanded by Mrs Wintersbottom again. Whats your name?” “Eline.” “Pleased to meet you, Eline. Let's go. With that, she grabbed Eline's hands, and they rushed off to the dinner hall. 

In no time, the girls were both enamored by each other, and they became joined at the hips. Having not had a lot of friends, eline was grateful to have found someone who deeply cared for her and she was grateful. She was even more pleased when she found Rosalind in her school two weeks later. “I asked mummy to transfer me to your school, and I wouldn't stop pouting until she conceded. So are you delighted to see me?” Eline stared wide-eyed at her friend, but she was very grateful for the company. One would think that being from wealthy families, you'd be able to make friends easily, but in the elite world, friendships were mostly established for one thing and one thing alone: power.

Being someone who has always been wary of leeches, Eline had done her best to stay away from the other children, well, until Rosalind showed up. Smiling widely, she responded, “I am delighted to see you!” Locking arms, they skipped happily into class.

“Penny for your thoughts? Eline was snapped out of her reverie by Rosalind's voice. “Are you spacing out because you're tired, or you're so delighted to see me?” Rosalind grinned sheepishly. Eline jumped out of her jeep and gave her friend a big hug. “Both… I've missed you so much! “Of course you have, darling, I mean it's me!” Giving her friend a side-eye, she grabbed her by the hand. “Let's go before others take the best spots. I don’t want to be staring up someone's butt again.” Rosalind burst into a mellifluous laugh as she let Eline drag her away.

…

“How was the Pilates class, Ellie? I think our Pilates instructor is pregnant, so she didn't quite give her best, maybe because she's tired,” Rosalind quipped. Slapping her hand, Eline looked mortified… “Rosa! You can't just say that! She might just be very tired, in her luteal phase or on her period,” said Eline, giving her friend the stink eye. “Well, give it three months, and you'll see that I’m right. By the way, how was your lunch today? Sorry I’m just asking now; we haven't really had the time to discuss it up until now.” “It's totally fine, Rosa; you've done more than enough. Taking time out of your busy schedule to model for us was absolutely sweet. The launch went well, and we're almost sold out, and I don't know if I should be pleased or nervous.” “Why would you be nervous about success?” “Well, that means we'd have to get started on new batches; we only made a hundred pieces available, seeing as we're still new.” Eline has a worried look on her face, and Rosalind couldn't help but notice. 

“You know what always puts me in a bad mood?” Rolling her eyes, Eline couldn't help but wonder what her crazy friend was about to suggest they go do. “What, Rose?” smiling evilly, Rosalind responded. “c’mon, don't give me that look; I promise it's nothing naughty. I know you're tired, so I'm not suggesting going clubbing or having a good time with a sexy hunk of a man…” “Rosalind!” “What?! Seriously, it's nothing crazy, I promise. Just follow me, and you'll be pleasantly surprised. And if I lie to you, I'm going to give you my Chevy for a whole month.” " Really? But that's your baby.” “I know; that's why I'm not going to be sneaky. Just hop into your car and follow me”. 

Dragging her feet, Eline reluctantly got into her Jeep and drove behind Rosalind. Rosalind has always been wild and naughty; the world was her oyster, and she was a daredevil. But that's one of her enchanting qualities, and Eline loves her for that. In no time, they got to a small pizza place, and Eline was truly delighted. She used to frequent this place with Rosalind when they were children and even as teens. It holds so many memories for them. It was here that Eline had her first kiss with Raymond Duncan; sadly, he left for the US a few weeks later to become a star athlete.

“Rosa! I can't believe this is what you had in mind; this is so amazing.” “See! I told you I had nothing naughty up my sleeve. I just wanted you to be happy and decompress, just because. So, are you feeling better already?” “But of course, Rosy, you really are the absolute best.” “Of course I am. Now let's go grab some pizzas before they get sold out!” Trust Rosalind to never be humble; she is just so fabulous, and you can't help but get sucked up into her world.

Pushing open the doors, Eline was immediately hit with both the smell of pizza and memories. They took a seat close to the glass windows so they could people-watch as they ate. They ordered their favourite, the meat craver’s delight packed with a variety of meats. Eline ordered a strawberry and banana sorbet, and Rosalind ordered a pineapple and lime sorbet. Biting into her pizza, Rosalind moaned loudly, “Ughhhhhh, this is soooo gooood!” earning her a few crude looks from the other customers, and she shot a dirty glare back at them. “What? Never seen a girl enjoying her food?” They quickly looked away, and Ellie couldn't help but cover her face as she burst into laughter. Rosalind has always been eccentric. “Ellie, don't go off your bat, but I met someone in Paris…” Ellie clasped her hands together and squealed, “Really! Give me all the details, girl. What's his name, where's he from, what does he look like, what does he do for work?” “Ellie, you have to relax, one question at a time, please,” Rosalind said dramatically. Eline rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers. “Tea. Now!” “Ugh, fine, Mum! You never let me have any fun!” Rosalind said, pouting like a teenage girl. “I know, sweetie, but mummy needs her tea.” Eline rolled her eyes, following the joke. “Okay, fine! His name is Pierre; he's French. He's a total hottie, dark hair, hazel-brown eyes, six-foot-two hunk of a god! He owns his restaurant and sometimes offers services as a private chef for the Crème de la crème of France. He is so hot and dreamy, eeeeeeee.” “Girl! That is so juicy,” Eline said, fanning herself. “So how did you guys meet? I thought you went to Paris to inspect some designs?” “That's accurate. But business quickly turned to pleasure. We met at an art plaza. I was shopping for some unique art, paintings, and furniture pieces for some clients, and we literally bumped into each other, and the rest, they said, is history,” Rosalind said and took a drag of her drink from her straw, giving Eline a funny look, who had her jaw on the floor. “Rosa, that sounds so Hollywood cliché. Plus you can't just leave me hanging after throwing me that huge bone. What did you guys do after? C’mon, spill!” 

Rosalind threw her head back laughing. “I knew you'd be hooked from the start. So don't worry, I'm a good friend, so I'll give you all the tea. He apologised for bumping into me, and I let him, because, hello? It's me. Afterward, he offered to buy me lunch, and I refused and walked off.” Eline couldn't believe her ears. ' You walked off? But he was being a gentleman.” “Yes, he was, but I wanted him to try harder,” Rosalind said, tucking her hair behind her left ear. “You coquette!” Eline said, giving her a mischievous smile. “Well, it worked, didn't it? Cause he came running after me. He told me he'd love to prepare dinner for me, and I told him he'd be a fool if he thought I was going to go to a stranger’s house, and he stood there shocked…” “Girl, what? I'm shocked myself he quickly clarified and said he runs a small restaurant not far from here, and he'd love to prepare something for me there. I told him I'd consider his request and to call me by 6 pm for my response. I took his phone and walked away. Guess who called me at exactly 6 pm? Pierre!” The two girls exchanged naughty laughs. “Rosa, you're such a siren.” “Thank you, darling. Well, he sent a car to pick me up and brought me to the restaurant, and it was anything but small. He made me one of the best French cuisines I've ever had. We talked well into the night, and he invited me over to a charity event on Friday, and I obliged. We kept seeing each other all through my three-week stay there, and let's just say it was heavenly. Sadly, I had to get back to London.” 

Rosalind finished and popped a piece of chicken into her mouth. Eline was on the edge of her seat “One final question, Rosa. I'm pretty sure yours wasnt an innocent encounter. So tell me, di you guys bump uglies? Rosalind culndt help but cackle evily “yes darling, and just so you know, there was nothing ugly about his member, it was as glorious as the eiffel tower” she winked. Eline was absolutely dumbstruck and couldnt say a word and when she found her voice, she inched closer to her frend and asked “so, how are you going to make it work? Would you guys be long distance?” “Ellie, we're not in a relationship. I made it clear to him that I couldn't have a long-distance relationship, but he was welcome to grace my bed whenever he was in London.” Eline couldn't help but smile and shake her head; her friend  really is an anomaly.